Genzyme For Sale? | Speculation mounts as purchase rumors swell around biotech giant
FILE PHOTO
An employee at the Genzyme Science Center in Framingham.
Rumors about Cambridge-based drug manufacturer Genzyme being purchased by an even larger pharmaceutical company are raising the question of what a possible purchase could mean for the company, and its significant operations in MetroWest.
Industry experts and analysts who follow Genzyme say the lack of official information from Genzyme makes it difficult to determine how close a purchase is to actually being brokered.
Some reports have said French biotech company Sanofi-Aventis may be interested in Genzyme, but officials from both companies have declined to discuss the matter in public.
Given the track record and current circumstances of Sanofi-Aventis, however, a deal would not be out of the question, according to analysts.
Market Speculation
Sanofi could have some of its drugs reach patent expiration in the coming months and years, which could mean generic, less expensive versions of the drugs could be brought to market.
"There continues to be attractive opportunities for companies that have compelling drugs that treat unmet medical needs," said Tracy Lefteroff, global managing partner for PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP who leads the group's life sciences and venture capital practices. "Especially when large blockbuster companies start losing their drug markets, they try to enhance their product pipelines, I think that's what Sanofi is considering. If it did happen, it would just be one in a long series of major pharmaceuticals trying to fill their revenue holes."
While there is no way to predict what Genzyme getting bought could mean for the company, Brian Abrahams, who tracks the biotech sector for Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. in New York, said he thinks Genzyme would likely remain relatively unharmed by the move.
"Sanofi is unlikely to buy Genzyme unless they're looking for the full package of what Genzyme has to offer: the manufacturing, the biologics, the drug portfolio," he said. "Genzyme doesn't have too much overlap with other companies in terms of its products, so whoever buys Genzyme is more likely to keep most of the operations intact."
To Robert Coughlin, president of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council in Cambridge, the state's industry trade group, that's good news.
Genzyme has invested a significant amount of money in MetroWest, including $300 million in new construction on its Framingham campus, which hosts more than 2,000 employees. Coughlin said Massachusetts, given its access to an educated workforce and surrounding biotech companies, is a good place for companies like Genzyme to grow.
"For the most part, companies can be run fairly autonomously of the mothership, which allows them to innovate efficiently," he said. "In some cases, we've even seen purchasing companies make more investments into this region because of all the great assets we have to offer."
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments